GLOBAL WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS
AUGUST 2020
METERAINIAN
Italian authorities have evacuated about 75 people, mostly tourists, from an
Alpine valley as huge blocks of ice threaten to crash down from a glacier (7th).
Planpincieux glacier, in the Mont Blanc massif, has weakened because of intense
summer heat alternating with night-time cold. It lies above Val Ferret valley,
near Courmayeur ski resort. A local environmental risk expert said the fragile
ice could fall at any time. The threatening glacier section is about the size of
Milan cathedral.
At
least five people have been killed in flooding caused by thunderstorms and
torrential rains on the Greek island of Evia (9th). Officials said
victims included an eight-month-old baby and two people in their 80s. Rescuers
found their bodies in houses in the village of Politika. Search efforts are
continuing for two other people reported missing.
A
violent storm struck Italy's northern region, bringing hail, floods, strong
winds, and a tornado (23rd). In a statement on Monday, August 24, the
National Confederation of Farmers (Coldiretti) said the severe weather caused
"millions of euros in damages." On the same day, a state of emergency has been
declared in several provinces, with authorities saying the consequences were
"devastating." The severe storm struck Verona on Sunday afternoon, causing
waterlogging and road blockage. Strong winds of up to 80 km/h caused
considerable damage to homes and uprooted hundreds of trees.
EUROPE
A
second heatwave has hit Europe in the space of a week and experts have warned
that temperatures will continue to rise across the continent in the years ahead
(8th). The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) says the heat has
been caused by a stream of hot air blown across Europe from North Africa. Laura
Paterson, a WMO meteorologist, said: "At the moment, there is extreme heat
developing across large parts of Western Europe and this is related to a
buckling of the jet stream. Across the eastern Atlantic, the jet stream is
diving south and then coming further north again and that's dragging very warm,
very hot air up from close to northern Africa, up northwards, across Spain,
across France and heading into parts of the UK." France has also been sweltering
through a heatwave since Thursday, with temperatures pushing towards 40C in
several areas. In SW France, Brive-la-Gaillarde broke its own record with
temperatures of 40.8C on Friday as did Cognac with 39.8C while Nantes posted a
new all-time record of 39.6C.
The
UK's wheat harvest is likely to be down markedly this year, according to the
National Farmers' Union, capping a tumultuous year for British farming after
consecutive seasons of extreme weather. Yields could be down by about a third,
with the worst harvest since the 1980s predicted. Good growing conditions over
the summer, when about half the wheat harvest was brought in across the country,
ended for many regions in the past week with severe thunderstorms following the
mini-heatwave, which saw the longest period of temperatures over 34C since
comparable records began in 1961. But the problems with the harvest started at
the beginning of the year. While this spring was the sunniest since comparable
measurements began in 1929, and substantially drier than usual, it followed the
wettest February ever recorded.
UNITED
STATES
A
devastating derecho ripped through several Midwest states, leaving a path of
destruction, more than 1.5 million customers without power, and more than 400000
hectares of destroyed or damaged crops (10th). Northern Illinois
University meteorology professor Victor Gensini described the event as one of
the worst weather events of 2020 in the United States. The storm ripped through
the heart of the Corn Belt - a region of the Midwestern United States that has
dominated corn production in the country since the 1850s, with winds gusts up to
180 km/h, causing huge economic impact which is expected to be widespread across
the farming community.
What
could be the highest temperature ever reliably recorded on Earth - 130F (54.4C)
- may have been reached in Death Valley National Park, California (16th).
The recording is being verified by the US National Weather Service. It comes
amid a heatwave on the US's west coast, where temperatures are forecast to rise
further this week. The scorching conditions have led to two days of blackouts in
California, after a power plant malfunctioned on Saturday. Sunday's reading was
recorded in Furnace Creek in Death Valley. Before this, the hottest temperature
reliably recorded on Earth was 129.2F (54C) - also in Death Valley in 2013.
Wildfires are raging across Northern California, which were sparked by dry
lightning during a heatwave (26th). Hundreds of thousands of people
have been displaced and 1.5million acres of land has been burnt. Two major
wildfires are being tackled by 14,000 firefighters, according to Cal Fire, the
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
ASIA
Persistent heavy monsoon rains hit Pakistan's Punjab Province overnight into
today, leaving at least 24 people dead and 18 hurt (20th). In Lahore,
more than 200 mm of rain fell in 24 hours, which is more than the average August
rainfall of 164 mm. Torrential rains left several houses damaged or destroyed as
many homes in rural Pakistan are made of sun-baked mud and flimsy cinder block
construction.
AFRICA
At
least three people lost their lives while around 1500 were displaced by severe
flooding in Chad's capital N'Djamena, which began today (20th).
Floods struck after several hours of heavy rains and were worsened by poor
drainage system in the city. Around 230 houses were destroyed while 100 others
were damaged in the Dembe quartier in the 7th arrondissement, displacing 1500
people from 327 families. Three people died in flood-related incidents.
MIDDLE
EAST
Heavy
rainfall caused destructive flooding in NE Turkey's Giresun Province, leaving
huge infrastructural damage, at least 4 people dead and 11 missing (22nd).
Officials said heavy rains in the district of Dereli started at 1500 LT, with
137 mm accumulating before the end of the day. The rains caused the Aksu Creek,
which runs through the district's centre, to overflow, turning roads into raging
rivers, sweeping away vehicles, and destroying buildings. Roads to 118 villages
in Giresun are closed.
Pakistan is seeing the worst rainfall since records began 89 years ago (28th)
The annual monsoon rain is particularly bad this year and the city of Karachi is
largely underwater. Roads have turned to rivers, houses have been destroyed and
people had to flee to shelters.
AUSTRAILIA
Three
people - including a four-year-old boy - have been killed by falling trees after
a storm lashed the Australian state of Victoria (27th-28th).
Gusts of up to 100 mph were recorded, causing widespread damage and knocking out
power to 95,000 homes. The deaths happened in suburbs across the state capital,
Melbourne - a city already reeling from a Covid outbreak. On Friday, residents
in 88 suburbs were also warned that the storm had contaminated drinking water.
Locals made more than 2,100 calls for emergency assistance after the storm
crossed the state late on Thursday, bringing down power lines and damaging
buildings.
TROPICAL
Tropical Storm Josephine became the earliest-forming J-named storm in the
Atlantic basin (13th). The previous earliest J-named storm was
Tropical Storm Jose in 2005
Tropical Storm Isaias is moving along Florida's east coast, bringing strong
winds and rain to the US state. Isaias, the ninth named storm of 2020, was
downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm after battering the Turks and
Caicos Islands and the Bahamas. It caused the deaths of two people in the
Caribbean. Early bands of heavy rain lashed the state's Atlantic coast early on
Sunday morning. The storm is now moving slowly offshore along the eastern coast,
with winds gusting up to 105 km/h. Thousands of power cuts have already been
reported in Florida. Mr De Santis told residents to have a week's supply of
food, water and medicine prepared. People in affected areas were advised to stay
indoors, or to evacuate if living in mobile homes.
Hurricane Isaias has come ashore in North Carolina, crossing the coast 40 miles
south-west of Wilmington (4th). It made landfall at 0310 GMT today
with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph, the National Hurricane Center (NHC)
said. Isaias was downgraded to a tropical storm after hitting islands in the
Caribbean, but was re-categorized as a category-one hurricane on Monday.
At
least 12 people have been killed as two storms tore through the Caribbean on
Sunday (23rd). Hurricane Marco and Tropical Storm Laura brought high
winds and rough seas leaving at least nine people dead in Haiti and another
three in the Dominican Republic. Heavy rains have also battered Cuba and the US
territory of Puerto Rico. Marco is expected to make landfall in the US state of
Louisiana on Monday, with Laura hitting Texas by Thursday.
Hurricane Laura has struck the US state of Louisiana, causing flash floods,
severe damage to buildings and power cuts to more than half a million homes (27th).
By Friday evening 14 people had been killed by the effects of the hurricane,
most by falling trees. It is one of the strongest to ever hit the US Gulf Coast,
striking at category four with winds up to 150 mph. Laura's storm surge has not
reached the levels feared but is still considered life-threatening, and could
spread 40 miles inland. Half a million residents had been told to leave parts of
Texas and Louisiana. More than half a million homes in Louisiana were reported
to be without power Laura and another storm, Marco, earlier swept across the
Caribbean, killing 24 people. Hurricane Laura made landfall shortly after
midnight local time (0500 GMT) near the district of Cameron, in Louisiana. It
tracked north, just east of the Texas-Louisiana border. Four hours later it had
been downgraded to a category three storm, the National Weather Service (NWS)
reported, before weakening again. At 1400 GMT it was a category one hurricane
with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph. But the NWS said "a catastrophic storm
surge, hurricane force winds and flash flooding will continue". Lake Charles, a
city of 78,000, and its surrounding areas have been badly hit. Trees and
electricity pylons have been ripped from the ground and vehicles overturned.
More than 420,000 Texas residents were ordered to leave, while an additional
200,000 were told to evacuate Calcasieu Parish in south-western Louisiana. Haiti
and the Dominican Republic were both earlier badly hit by storms Marco and
Laura, with at least 24 fatalities and severe flooding. Thousands of homes were
damaged and there were extensive power cuts. Cuba suffered material damage but
did not record any deaths. In Jamaica, there were reports of landslides and
flooded roads. The US territory of Puerto Rico was also hit.
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